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PAUL161

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Just bought the wife a new Buick, loaded, and would you believe the thing doesn't even have a CB player! Oh it has WiFi, Sirius radio, Internet, GPS and lord knows what else, but no CB player! Over 5 to 600 dollars or more in CDs and she can't play a one of them. Wouldn't everyone assume that would be a standard item in a modern car with their best radio? My truck came with a CD player! I guess I expect too much. :rolleyes2: PJ
 

TR3driver

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CDs are rapidly going the way of the 8 track tape.

Time to get started copying them to MP3. I use (mostly) a freeware program called CDex, but there are lots of others available.
 

Grantura_MKI

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Yup.
Not even easy to find a CD player in the shops for you to fit.
good luck with the Buick....mother in-law has one and it seems to be a good car with regular servicing.
 

NutmegCT

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CDs are rapidly going the way of the 8 track tape.

Time to get started copying them to MP3. I use (mostly) a freeware program called CDex, but there are lots of others available.

Being one of the Ancients, I have to ask ... how do you play the MP3s in the car? Don't you need to buy an MP3 player, and plug it into the car audio system's USB port?

Tom the Luddite
 
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PAUL161

PAUL161

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Being one of the Ancients, I have to ask ... how do you play the MP3s in the car? Don't you need to buy an MP3 player, and plug it into the car audio system's USB port?

Tom the Luddite
I'm with you Tom, I'm from the rotary phone days also and would also like to know how to play MP3s in the car. Come on guys a little help here. :witless:
 

TR3driver

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It varies, but usually you can play them directly from a "thumb drive", which is an inexpensive memory device you plug into a USB port.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-32GB...umb+drive&qid=1563971606&s=electronics&sr=1-9

The aftermarket unit I have will also accept a "microSD" card, which is a similar concept, but the card is only about the size (and thickness) of my thumbnail and fits entirely within a small slot in the unit.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultr...&pf_rd_p=c65e95de-7673-54a7-9bfe-1c8b6820a712

Both are available in various sizes, big enough to hold an incredible amount of music (or whatever). I'm fond of listening to audio books on long trips, 32 Gb will hold about 100 books (at 8 to 10 hours each)

Music doesn't compress as well as audio books, but 32Gb will still hold roughly 200 hours of music. (All of Spinal Tappets' "Tappetstry" fits in 41 Mb.)

I forget offhand how big the internal storage is, might be only 16Gb :smile: But I also (in theory) have the option of copying audio files from a thumb drive or microSD to the internal storage. That would save having the thumb drive hanging out of the port all the time.

Yet another option, if you have a "smart phone", is for the car to play audio directly from your smart phone, via bluetooth. I rented a 2017 Toyota where that worked particularly slick, the book would pause whenever there was something else going on (like voice instructions from the mapping software or a phone call) or when the car was shut off. Then automatically resume from a few seconds before it left off, when the car was restarted or the interruption ended.

I didn't really get a chance to try out all the functions it had; but it seemed to have really impressive integration with my phone. The car provided all the hands-free functions (required by law now in many places), I could make or receive phone calls without taking my hands off the steering wheel. And I'm told that the outgoing voice quality was very good, better than most speaker phones even when I was doing 75 on the interstate. I didn't try having it read text messages to me (or taking dictation), but I believe it would do that too.
 

NutmegCT

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There ya go Paul. Nothing to it!

It varies, but usually you can play them directly from a "thumb drive", which is an inexpensive memory device you plug into a USB port.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-32GB...umb+drive&qid=1563971606&s=electronics&sr=1-9

The aftermarket unit I have will also accept a "microSD" card, which is a similar concept, but the card is only about the size (and thickness) of my thumbnail and fits entirely within a small slot in the unit.
https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Ultr...&pf_rd_p=c65e95de-7673-54a7-9bfe-1c8b6820a712

Both are available in various sizes, big enough to hold an incredible amount of music (or whatever). I'm fond of listening to audio books on long trips, 32 Gb will hold about 100 books (at 8 to 10 hours each)

Music doesn't compress as well as audio books, but 32Gb will still hold roughly 200 hours of music. (All of Spinal Tappets' "Tappetstry" fits in 41 Mb.)

I forget offhand how big the internal storage is, might be only 16Gb :smile: But I also (in theory) have the option of copying audio files from a thumb drive or microSD to the internal storage. That would save having the thumb drive hanging out of the port all the time.

Yet another option, if you have a "smart phone", is for the car to play audio directly from your smart phone, via bluetooth. I rented a 2017 Toyota where that worked particularly slick, the book would pause whenever there was something else going on (like voice instructions from the mapping software or a phone call) or when the car was shut off. Then automatically resume from a few seconds before it left off, when the car was restarted or the interruption ended.

I didn't really get a chance to try out all the functions it had; but it seemed to have really impressive integration with my phone. The car provided all the hands-free functions (required by law now in many places), I could make or receive phone calls without taking my hands off the steering wheel. And I'm told that the outgoing voice quality was very good, better than most speaker phones even when I was doing 75 on the interstate. I didn't try having it read text messages to me (or taking dictation), but I believe it would do that too.
 

Gliderman8

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Note to Tom..... Bluetooth does not require a dentist :rolleye:
 

TR3driver

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Ok, sorry if I went too far, too fast. There are definitely some new skills to learn here, but nothing difficult at all. Basic steps are:

1) Collect the MP3 files you want to play.

2) Obtain a thumb drive (or microSD if your car will take it). Readily available at places like Best Buy or even Walmart (tho Walmart prices tend to be rather high for some reason).

3) Copy the MP3 files to the thumb drive (on your computer).

4) Put the thumb drive in the USB slot in the car (or microSD into the microSD slot).

5) Consult your owner's manual on how to tell the car to play the thumb drive. I strongly recommend you learn this while NOT driving :smile:
 

NutmegCT

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Interior of Paul's new Buick:

controls.jpg

Note: This is the Audio system, altho' there are a few controls provided specifically for steering the car.
 

CaptRandy

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Bought a new Colorado and same thing NO CD player. I am too old to play with one of those mp3 things and don't know how to set them up anyway.
TR3 you lost me before I even started. I have no idea what step one means. I have a bunch of CD and even many vinyls that I would like to listen to.
 

Gliderman8

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YakkoWarner

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When the stock AM/FM radio (no CD player or even tape player) in my 1992 Ford died, I bought a fairly nice Sony head unit that had a CD player but also has a USB port right on the front. I find it much easier to load the music onto a 64GB thumb drive and stick it in the USB port than to carry an ammo box of burned CD's around. My 2011 Mazda doesn't have a USB port to do that (but does have a 1/8 inch AUX IN jack), so I bought a cheap $20.00 prepaid Android phone at Walmart, and never installed the SIM card. I set it up using WiFi and loaded a music player app and offline GPS app (both of which can operate without any data connection). I put all the music I wanted onto a microSD card, put it in the phone and play it through the AUX IN jack. My sister has a car with Bluetooth and I was able to link the phone to her car and play over Bluetooth as well.

I like having the CD player available because it lets me listen to one-offs or things I just picked up at the store while travelling, but I use the MP3 files far more. When the 1992 Ford died I kept that Sony head unit, it is now in my 2003 Ranger because its radio/CD head unit burned out a couple years ago. The MP3 files also don't skip on bumpy roads.

It is a bit of a learning curve to figure out how to use the new systems, but after doing so I think it is a better (and safer) setup than trying to drive and be a DJ swapping discs in and out. I have close to 300 albums at my fingertips. By far the most time consuming part is pulling the music off the CDs and converting them to MP3. Although it is not much more difficult than physically copying the CDs themselves (I never carried original discs in the car, way too easy to get scratched up). Going from vinyl to MP3 is a bit harder because you need not only a very good vinyl playback system, but also a high quality audio interface for your computer plus real time recording software. Since I do side work with sound engineering I am fortunate to have this stuff handy, but it may actually be more cost effective (and a heck of a lot easier) to just get used CD copies of the albums than buy all the kit to do vinyl to digital transcription.
 

TR3driver

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CDex is a free program (for Windows), you can download it from https://cdex.mu/download
Install it on your Windows computer (with a CD drive and a USB port).

You'll need to supply an email address to be able to access the on-line free database of CD tracks and titles on-line (which is optional). If you don't though, you'll need to type the names yourself. Otherwise everything winds up named "Track 1" "Track 2" and so on.
5EuJOuB.png


I suggest also setting up a directory (C:\Music here) to receive your MP3 files.
mX5Qlbo.png


Then, with CDex running, just put an audio CD in the drive. Wait a few seconds for the program to identify the CD and look up the names (or enter the names yourself). You should wind up with a display like this:
kqapyxF.png


Hit F9 to start the conversion process (commonly known as "ripping" the CD). You should see a popup kind of like this while it works:
5PmJ7nx.png


When it's done, you should have a new directory with all the MP3 files that were just created from your CD:
w0huWQi.png


PS, there should be similar software available for Macintosh/Apple, but I don't know anything about it. iTunes has always been a frustrating experience for me, and rarely does what I want.
 

TR3driver

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It's been a long, long time since I've ripped vinyl, but as I recall, all you really need is a decent turntable and a matching 'phono' preamp. Most older stereo "receivers" have a fair quality (not audiophile level, but usable) preamp inside; or you can buy a purpose-made unit for not too much. There are lots of "audiophile" units that cost a small fortune, but for most people, a cheap one will do the job. We're talking about vinyl here, and playback in a car.

Some cables, of course.

Most PCs will include a sound input that again, while not audiophile quality, will do the job just fine for the quality required for playback in a car. And CDex will do the conversion for you.
 
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PAUL161

PAUL161

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I think I'll use my older computer as, ironically, this new HP doesn't have a cd player either! I do have an external for it, but the older computer would be easier and I can walk away from it at any time. PJ
 

Boink

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With my Audi, I have several SD slots in the glove-box... and in one is a 32gb card full of music.
 
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I have a 256g drive I use, individual songs, albums, fullconcerts. Around 4000 different
tracks right now and I add to it regularly. Much of it is what a refer to as my ā€œdinosaurā€
music since most young folks donā€™t know the songs orartists. In fact there have been times
Iā€™ve passed the ear buds to someone and said ā€œname thatsongā€ just to get the blank stare..

 
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PAUL161

PAUL161

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Well the wife has Sirius in the car and likes it, so for now I get a repreive. :highly_amused:
 
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